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Winter Ills and Chills

Autumn is the ideal time to prepare, health-wise, for the coming winter. A strong, healthy immune system can make all the difference to whether the winter months are a misery, plagued by infections or not.

Preparation is the key. A time to look at the diet to ensure proper nutrition, as well as looking at the herbs which help to ‘boost’ the immune system.  As always, prevention is better than cure, and if prevention is not possible, then a healthy immune system can reduce the severity, duration and after-effects of an infection.

The information below is for simple home treatments. If you suffer from frequent or chronic infections during the winter, or have any doubts about using herbs, please see a professional medical herbalist. My clinic in Alnwick is open on Thursdays and Fridays.

Phone 01665 602025 for an appointment or if you wish to discuss using herbal medicines.

Supporting the Immune System.
Eating a healthy diet throughout the autumn and winter is very important. Plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables (which means local, seasonal, or frozen fruit and vegetables) provide essential vitamins and minerals for a healthy immune system.  Whilst the full range of vitamins and minerals are important, vitamins C and D and the mineral zinc have particular roles to play.  On the other hand, refined sugars including the artificial sweeteners (as found in cakes, biscuits, sweets, and fizzy drinks) can reduce the efficiency of our immune system – bugs love sugar.  See my blog for more information about vitamin D and its essential role in our health.

Both garlic and onions are ‘super vegetables’ in the fight against infections as they work as antibiotics. Onion syrup was a traditional home remedy for chesty coughs, sinus congestion, and a boiled onion core used to treat ear infections. More details of these home remedies (including recipes and explanations of how and why they work) are available in my book ‘Remembered Remedies of Northumberland’ which can be purchased directly from me or via Amazon.

Honey is another ‘super food’ which works as an antibiotic, helping to soothe sore throats and ease coughs. Indeed, trials have shown that honey is as good as over-the-counter children’s cough medicines - and it’s much more nutritious.

Stress and depression have been shown to weaken the immune system, which is why, when you are stressed, anxious or depressed, you may find that you catch more infections or it takes much longer to shake them off.

Echinacea is perhaps one of the best-known, most widely available herbs used in the winter.  One of the ways that Echinacea works is by increasing the numbers of those wonderfully named cells called Natural Killer Cells which circulate around the body looking for bacteria and viruses. Echinacea is a remarkably safe herb, although some people are allergic to it. If you have an allergy to Chamomile or Feverfew, then you may also be allergic to Echinacea as it is a member of the same plant family.

When Infection Strikes
As an herbalist, I usually blend specific medicines for each person, to take account of their overall health. Stocking over 100 different herbs means that a fully tailored prescription can address both the underlying condition as well as treating the symptoms. However, some remedies which can be helpful for first aid include:

Elderberry has some excellent anti-viral properties, especially for the ‘flu virus. It can be taken as a syrup, juice or tincture. Children love the syrup. Gathering ripe elderberries is one of the pleasures of the autumn harvest. I make a very tasty syrup with honey and cloves which soon disappears in our house. Luckily, elderberries freeze well so I make sure I collect enough to last me through the winter. 

Thyme is such a versatile herb which can be taken as a tea or as part of a tincture medicine. It has anti-viral as well as antibacterial properties so is great for all types of respiratory infection from the sinuses, to the throat to the chest. As it is a powerful herb, I always mix the tincture with other herbs – such as liquorice (thyme and liquorice syrup make a soothing combination for irritable coughs), mullein, ribwort, elecampane …. to name a few. As a tea, it works well with chamomile or peppermint, or elderflower. Thyme is not suitable as a medicine for pregnant women.

Elderflower makes a delicious as well as useful tea which helps to reduce catarrh production. A traditional tea for fevers is a combination of elderflower, peppermint and yarrow.

Finally, if infection does strike, rest and stay warm and well hydrated. Symptoms such as raised temperature, sneezing, sweating and catarrh are all ways the body uses to fight infection.- suppressing them means the body takes longer to overcome the infection. Whilst aspirin and other similar treatments (such as paracetamol) help some of the painful symptoms of flu, they do weaken the immune system and can cause a significant increase in virus production